Twitter's New Check Mark Verification System: What We Know

Elon Musk on Friday confirmed a relaunch date and new details for the retooled Twitter Blue verification system, after the program's initial disastrous introduction.

Musk, the controversial billionaire who heads companies Tesla and SpaceX, confirmed that the Twitter verification system tied to the Twitter Blue subscription service will be reintroduced on December 2, after previously delaying it to Tuesday. The service will still charge users $8 per month to have a verification checkmark, but will now include a variety of different check marks.

Musk outlined the release date and other new details in a tweet reply to a user going by "Crypto King." Unlike the previous system, in which all accounts received the same check mark once verified, the new system will utilize different colors for different sorts of entities. Companies will get a gold symbol, government accounts will get a grey one, and individuals will get the standard blue check, no matter if they are notable public figures or otherwise.

Musk also said that accounts will need to be "manually authenticated" before receiving a verification symbol, as happened before the billionaire took over the platform a month ago and opted to retool the system. Musk described this change as "painful, but necessary."

Musk officially took over Twitter on October 27 for $44 billion. The businessman initially offered to buy the platform several months earlier but attempted to back out, citing concerns over bots on the platform, before being compelled to complete the deal after legal back and forths.

His time at the head of the social network has been chaotic, with thousands of employees being laid off or driven to resign by demands for a "hardcore" work commitment. Musk's commitment to loosening moderation practices and reinstating previously banned accounts, including that of former President Donald Trump, has also driven away numerous high-profile advertisers from the platform.

One of the most haphazard endeavors Musk has undertaken at Twitter is an overhaul of the verification system, which allowed prominent individuals and companies to specify which account was legitimately theirs, but was viewed by some fringe right-wing figures as a status symbol that favored the left. Musk's proposed change required users to pay for Twitter Blue to keep their check mark and allowed anyone to get the symbol simply by paying.

This much-criticized plan led to a rash of impersonations on Twitter, many seemingly attempting to highlight the dangers inherent in the new system. This included verified accounts impersonating President Joe Biden, former President George W. Bush, Nintendo, McDonald's, SpaceX, Tesla, and Musk himself. Eli Lilly lost roughly $15 billion in market value after an account posing as the pharma company promised it would make insulin free.

Newsweek reached out to Twitter for comment.